A new law is taking aim at sales suppression devices called “zappers,” which are used to falsify cash register records.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed legislation that makes it a felony crime to sell, purchase or possess zappers. The penalty is one to five years behind bars and a fine of up to $100,000.

Zappers involve a software program that can be carried on a flash drive or other device and linked to a cash register. State Sen. John Pappageorge, R-Troy, said zappers work on cash sales only and allow business owners to keep money that would otherwise go to the government as taxes.

“It steals every tax that goes into that cash register, including the income tax of the owner-operator when he does his individual tax return,” he said.

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Pappageorge introduced the legislation to ban zappers in Michigan.

He said in the province of Quebec in Canada, the use of zappers in restaurants was found to have resulted in the loss of $425 million a year. He said equated to Michigan, that figure would likely be about $740 million a year, not including other businesses such as convenience stores or gas stations.

Pappageorge said sophisticated, second-generation zappers can even correct a business’s inventory to reflect cash register records.

“Let’s say that during the day, you took in $5,000 in cash sales,” he said. “At the end of the day, you hit the code ... and the cash register literally says, ‘How much do you want to steal?’ So you type in $500.

“The littler zapper then goes back through the day’s sales, and if you had dinner and dessert, it erases dessert. And when you’re all done, the cash sales are now $4,500, and you have $500 in your pocket.”

Pappageorge said zappers are relatively easy to build and their use seems to be becoming more widespread. He said as part of a sting operation in New York, law enforcement officials set up a phony restaurant chain and advertised for cash registers. Seventeen of 19 vendors offered the option of having registers with zappers.

Lawmakers in a number of states have taken steps to ban the use of zappers.

“This thing is worldwide,” Pappageorge said.

Pappageorge said he has spoken with information technology experts about the possibility of creating a device that could be used to locate zappers connected to cash registers.

He said the technology behind zappers could have broader implications.

“Voting machines are not unlike cash registers,” he said. “If this ever bleeds over, we’re in a world of hurt.”

Jennifer Kluge, president and CEO of the Michigan Food and Beverage Association, said she has not heard about zappers being a widespread problem in the state’s restaurant industry.

“We need to ensure that everything has integrity and fair play in the industry,” she said. “If people are using technology to defraud or to steal, that’s unacceptable.”

The ban on zappers in Michigan takes effect Aug. 29.

Contact Ann Zaniewski at 248-745-4628 or ann.zaniewski@oakpress.com. Follow her on Twitter @OPCourtReporter.